Go-to-market (GTM) success has always depended on one critical factor: alignment. When sales and marketing teams are truly in sync, the payoff is faster launches, stronger customer engagement, and more revenue.
Even with good intentions and plenty of collaboration, alignment remains one of the most persistent challenges GTM teams face. In fact, recent Mural research found that 85% of GTM teams report ongoing alignment issues—even though the same percentage say they’re confident in their GTM best practices. So what does it all mean?
The truth is, collaboration is just one piece of the GTM puzzle. Let’s take a look at three ways sales and marketing teams can achieve GTM success by building lasting alignment from day one.
1. Build the Ideal Customer Profile Together
One thing sales and marketing can agree on is the importance of the customer. While they might have different perspectives on the target customer and how to best attract them, there’s a shared focus on customer success. One of the first steps to create alignment between sales and marketing is identifying the ideal customer profile (ICP).
An ICP defines the shared traits of your best-fit customers – the ones who are most likely to buy, be retained, and get long-term value from your product. It should go beyond demographics to include:
- Common pain points: These include things like frequent delays in go-to-market timeframes, low conversion, or too many unqualified leads.
- Buying behaviors: Define how they gather information and when they are most likely to buy, like during quarterly planning, so you can tailor your targeting strategies and campaign timing.
- Internal roles involved in the decision: Make sure your sales process involves the final decision-maker – not just the person using the product.
- Triggers that signal readiness to buy: These might include someone spending a lot of time on a product landing page, proactively reaching out to sales teams more with product questions, or submitting a demo request on the website.
Mapping your ICP visually, with input from both teams, can help direct a conversation between marketing and sales that creates your targeting and why. That also allows teams to see how to engage with the customers at different stages in the customer journey.
Start by co-creating a simple customer journey map based on recent wins and losses. What did the path look like for customers who converted quickly versus those who stalled? These types of insights can help you make smarter, informed decisions.
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2. Agree on GTM Goals and Metrics
Now that you’ve aligned on your ICPs, the next question to solve is: What does success look like? Without shared goals, even the best GTM campaigns fall flat.
Alignment means defining success the same way and agreeing on how to measure it. Before execution begins, bring sales and marketing together to answer:
- What revenue targets are we aiming for?
- How many leads and what kind of leads do we need to hit that number?
- What’s the expected sales velocity or conversion rate?
- Which segments or personas are we prioritizing?
Write these down. Better yet, make them visual. A scorecard with goals, metrics, and owner accountability can go a long way in keeping teams focused and in sync. Revisit this scorecard every few weeks to adjust based on what’s working or not.
3. Map Out the Action Plan
Our research shows that making the work visible can help teams avoid this alignment breakdown. 81% of GTM teams said visuals drive greater alignment and efficiency. In addition, the top-rated learning style was visual learning.
That’s why teams should get out of DMs, docs, and decks. Instead, a shared visual plan can help them lay out what needs to get done, who’s responsible for each piece, and when it needs to happen. A shared board, digital canvas, or simple timeline can clarify ownership and ensure the GTM motion stays on schedule.
Visual collaboration doesn’t just help track progress. It helps prevent misunderstandings and last-minute fire drills that eat up time and trust.
From Misalignment to Impact
When sales and marketing teams are aligned, GTM performance improves across the board. You get to market faster, earn more qualified leads, accelerate deal cycles, and have better win rates.
But alignment doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s built through shared understanding, clear goals, and a visual plan that keeps everyone moving in the same direction.
Visual collaboration is the through line that turns alignment into action and action into success. It makes the plan real, keeps it visible, and helps teams course-correct before things go off-track.
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